Monday Project - Layered Felt Summer Bookmarks

Summer!  I love it!!  Vacations, swimming, gardens, and summer reading!  I read all year round, but there's just something about summer reading that seems special - maybe it's because I'm reading in different places than my usual non-summer spot on the couch.  Every summer I re-read a few favorite books or favorite series and a stack of new books.  Last year I re-read The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the umpteenth time and loved it just as much as when I read it for the first time as a teenager.  I think I'll go for Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy this summer - it's probably been about 15 years since I read that and remember just loving the story of Earth's first colonizers to Mars.  It's good for dreaming!  It's very unusual for me, but I don't have my new books lined up yet - probably because I wasn't able to drive and get to bookstores after my broken toe "adventure."

If you like mysteries and are looking for some good summer reading, I recently finished SJ Rozen's Shanghai Moon and loved it.  It kept me guessing right up to the end.  And Martha Grimes The Black Cat is lots of fun!  It's partially told from the point of view of a cat and dog - and it works!

To keep your place in all that summer reading, I have four summer bookmarks - a surfboard, watermelon, flip flops on a beach, and a sunflower.

Materials:
*felt
*embroidery floss
*1/8 or 1/4 inch ribbon
*embroidery needle
*felt or tacky glue
*patterns found here

This is the last in a series of seasonal felt bookmarks.  If you haven't made any of these yet, you might want to look over the first set, Autumn, since I go into more detail on how to get everything put together.  For the rest of the series, Winter can be found here and Spring here.  I have a tutorial on blanket stitch embroidery here and one on the other stitches I use here.

Surfboard:
1.  Using the patterns, cut two surfboards and one surfboard design from felt.  Attach the design to the front surfboard with a few dots of glue.  Sew around the edges of the design with 2 strands of floss, using a blanket stitch.

2.  Sew front to back using 6 strands of floss and a blanket stitch.  Punch holes in both sides and loop ribbon through, taking a few stitches through the ribbon to keep it from coming undone.

Watermelon:
1.  Cut two 2" by 6" rectangles from felt.   Using the patterns, cut out 3 watermelon centers and 3 rinds.  Attach to the front of the bookmark with a few dots of glue.  Sew around the edges with 2 strands of floss, using a blanket stitch.  Add seeds with 3 strands of floss, using french knots.

2.  Sew front to back using 6 strands of floss and a blanket stitch.  Punch holes in both sides and loop ribbon through, taking a few stitches through the ribbon to keep it from coming undone.

Flip Flops:

1.  Cut two 2" by 6" rectangles from felt.   I used a heather tan that reminded me of sand so it would look like the flip flops were on the beach.  Using the patterns, cut out 2 flip flops.  Attach to the front of the bookmark with a few dots of glue.  Sew around the edges with 2 strands of floss, using a blanket stitch.  Sew the straps with 6 strands of floss, using an outline stitch.  Sew the starfish with 6 strands of floss and a lazy daisy stitch. 

2.  Sew front to back using 6 strands of floss and a blanket stitch.  Punch holes in both sides and loop ribbon through, taking a few stitches through the ribbon to keep it from coming undone.

Sunflower:
1.  Cut two 2" by 6" rectangles from felt.   Using the patterns, cut out 6 petals, 4 leaves, 1 center, and 1 stem.  Attach the stem and the center to the front of the bookmark with a few dots of glue.  Sew around the edges with 2 strands of floss, using a blanket stitch.  Attach the leaves with a few dots of glue and then sew around their edges with 2 strands of floss, using a blanket stitch.  Continue up each leaf with an outline stitch.

2.  Attach the petals with a few dots of glue.  Sew around the edges with 2 strands of floss, using a blanket stitch.  Add seeds with 3 strands of floss, using french knots.

3.  Sew front to back using 6 strands of floss and a blanket stitch.  Punch holes in both sides and loop ribbon through, taking a few stitches through the ribbon to keep it from coming undone.

Happy Creating!  Deborah